Imagine that you have two friends and both have put in ten years of painstaking labor into writing a book. Both books are equally timely and well-written, and they’re even in the same genre.
But friend A, let’s call her Ava, has also done the following:
- Attended a bunch of literary events in the past few years, supporting her friends in the writing community, and has made hundreds of friends who are eager to support her in the way she’s supported them
- Stayed in touch with, signed up for the newsletters of, and regularly emailed the people she’s met over the years in writing groups, in readings, at community events — so now, should she wish to email them about her own book, they’d be very receptive
- Collected the names of journalists and editors who seem to have an interest in books similar to hers, as well as reviewers of the same type, whom she can reach out to, or whose names she can pass to her publisher
- Has bought books at her local bookstores, building relationships with the booksellers who are now happy to invite her and support her release
- Has been active on social media, supporting, liking, resharing other authors’ content….
You’re probably eager to support Friend A, because you know that she’s been a great asset to your community of writers, and you yourself have probably benefited from knowing her.
Friend B, let’s call her Bonnie, on the other hand:
- Doesn’t attend events (“I don’t like to go out!” “Virtual events are boring!”)
- Hasn’t emailed you in ages and unsubscribed from your mailing list too (“Sorry, but I’m not an email person.”)
- Hasn’t been collecting names of journalists and editors (“Shouldn’t my publisher do that??”)
- Doesn’t visit her local bookstore (“I don’t have time… I only read the classics.” Or sometimes, “I don’t read anymore.”)
- Isn’t active on social media (“I hate all the self-promotion.”)
You’re probably rooting for Bonnie too, but you’re less likely to help her, because when you think about it, Bonnie doesn’t seem to be the most selfless person, and she likely hasn’t done much for you lately. It’s human nature to want to help those who helped us…
We’ve all been Ava sometimes and Bonnie other times. But… You see my point.
So let’s say that Bonnie and Ava are both published by presses of the same caliber. (Possible, though to be honest Ava has much better odds of securing a larger press, because she has the social media following, newsletter, media contacts, bookstore connections, and has shown initiative, which counts greatly these days, whereas Bonnie will be seen by publishers as someone with no platform and possibly a difficult to manage attitude…. So in reality, Avas tend to be published by more reputable presses than Bonnies, but for the sake of this thought exercise let’s say they’re the same caliber of press.) Who do you think will sell more books? Ava or Bonnie?
The answer should be pretty obvious. Even if Ava does nothing more than she’s already been doing, she has thousands of folks to call on in her community. She doesn’t have to push hard or be aggressive. We all like to help those that have been kind to us and helped us.
Let’s say Ava and Bonnie both decide to hire a third party company, like Coriolis. Whose campaign do you think will be more effective?
Having worked with plenty of Avas and Bonnies and many authors in-between, I can tell you without a doubt that being generous with your time, supporting your fellow authors, and being engaged with them ALWAYS pays off. I give the same essential advice to authors in each camp, but the effectiveness will be much lower for those with no audience and no prior engagement. It’s a lot to build a community. A lot of work if you’re doing it in the last minute (and even mores if you don’t enjoy the process). A lot of fun if you do it over years, while connecting with likeminded writers, because you want to, not because you have to.
It is often very difficult to convince authors in Bonnie’s position that building relationships over the years makes everything easier later, which is unfortunate, because that approach severely limits their book’s reach, and it makes the process less fun and more work-intensive for them. (They are also likely to blame us and their publisher for their limited reach, expecting us to work miracles on their behalf regardless of the circumstances… but that’s another story altogether.)
If you’re still writing your book, I’d encourage you to try to see how Ava’s approach could benefit you and your peers, and how it could also be fun. And if you find yourself saying things that Bonnie says above, see if you can find a way to connect with the right people and build your community, so it doesn’t feel like torture. We could all use more human connection these days, forthcoming book or not!
